Dulac man convicted of rape granted retrial

A Houma judge has decided to grant another trial for a man serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2008 of raping his girlfriend's granddaughter.

Katie UrbaszewskiStaff Writer

A Houma judge has decided to grant another trial for a man serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2008 of raping his girlfriend's granddaughter.Albert Norman Pierre Sr., 66, of Dulac, did not win his appeals, but a statement that the granddaughter made after the trial contradicts her testimony about the rape, according to court documents. So his attorney convinced Judge Randy Bethancourt that a new trial was warranted.The victim is saying others abused her as a child during the same time Pierre allegedly abused her, court documents show. During the trial she denied being abused by anyone else.Such a change in testimony “at the very least undermines the prosecution's entire case and deprived the defendant of being able to use the information to cross-examine her at the trial,” Bethancourt said in his court order.The Courier and Daily Comet do not name victims in sexual crimes.Pierre's opportunity for a new trial, scheduled April 15, comes through a channel felons have called post-conviction relief, but “in general, it's rare for a person to get a new trial,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Erny said.The District Attorney's Office has not changed its opinion about Pierre's guilt, Erny said.There is still “overwhelming evidence” that Pierre is guilty, and Pierre is only getting a new trial “out of an abundance of caution,” Erny said.Bethancourt's decision “doesn't mean that he's guilty, and it doesn't mean he's innocent. It means the trial was possibly tainted,” Erny said.From his sister's perspective, however, Pierre's new trial is an opportunity to correct a wrongful conviction and save him from a bleak life sentence.“I hope things can work out for him because we really want him home because we miss him, and we love him, and we really want him to come home,” Juanita Pierre said.He has been in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola since his June 20, 2008, conviction, though he returned to the Terrebonne Parish jail now that he's being re-tried, she said. Juanita Pierre believes her brother is innocent and has worked closely with all of his attorneys since his arrest.Albert Norman Pierre Sr., a retired Dulac offshore captain, is accused of sexually abusing his girlfriend's granddaughter for six years, according to the girl's 2008 testimony. After the trial, the grandmother said she thinks Pierre is innocent.Juanita Pierre said she's upset Bethancourt set her brother's bond in the Terrebonne Parish jail at half a million dollars after it was set at $100,000 when he was first arrested. Since Bethancourt has determined the first trial was tainted, she said he should have a clean slate.Erny said the judge likely set the bond that high because his office presented “strong evidence” during the first trial.

Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.